The Async-First Playbook: Remote Collaboration Techniques for Agile Software Teams

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: Adapting to the New Normal
	Chapter 1 There’s Got to Be a Better Way to Work
		Work Deserves a New Look
			Complex Problems Need Smarter Collaboration
			The Promise of Flexibility
			Escaping the Shallows
			A More Inclusive Workplace
			Defaulting to Action
			Improved Knowledge Sharing and Communication
		A Better Work Environment for All of Us
	Chapter 2 Foster a Mindset for Change
		Four Simple Ideas
			Focus on Value
			Make a Ulysses Pact
			Appreciate the Balance
			Visualize Change on a Spectrum
		Go Far, Go Together
		Ready for the First Steps
Part II: Prepare to go Async-First
	Chapter 3 The Tools You Need
		With Tools, Less Is More
		Tools Are Everything; Tools Are Nothing
	Chapter 4 The Biggest Async-First Superpower
		Writing Is a Practice; Documentation a Product
			Why Meetings Are the Last Resort, Not the First Option
			The Benefits of Writing
			What About the Agile Manifesto?
			How Do We Write Better?
			How Much More Effective Is Face-to-Face Communication?
			The Manifesto Deserves the Benefit of Doubt
		To Work Async-First, We Must Write
	Chapter 5 Three More Async-First Superpowers
		What an Async-First Superhero Looks Like
			Block Distractions
			Read and Comprehend
			Work Independently
		Personal Productivity Leads to Team Productivity
	Chapter 6 Calm Things Down with Collaboration Protocols
		Work Execution vs. Workflow
			Revisit Your Workflow Statuses and Transitions
			Make Email and IM Secondary Communication Tools
			Streamline Your Decision-Making Process
			Identify Channels and Their Response Times
		Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals
Part III: The Practitioner’s Guide
	Chapter 7 Meetings as the Last Resort
		Just. Too Many. Meetings
			The ConveRel Quadrants
			When You Meet, Make It Count
			Account for Costs of Frequent Cross–Time Zone Meetings
			Stay Human
		Async-First, with Small Shifts
	Chapter 8 The Value of Being Face to Face
		From URL to IRL
			The Time-Zone Question
			Face-to-Face Collaboration Isn’t Free
			The True Value of Being in Person 
			Camaraderie Has Dollar Value
			Rethink the Onsite-Offsite
			Be Conscious About Building Relationships
		So Much for Meetings
	Chapter 9 Micro-Moves to Shift Left
		Small Shifts, Easy Wins
			Personal Shifts: Broadcast Your Commitment
			Team Shifts: Accelerate Leftward
		Build Async-First Behavioral Cues
	Chapter 10 Write a Team Handbook
		Distributed Teams Need a Single Source of Truth
			By Default, Start with Your Team
			What Goes into a Handbook?
			Tools You Can Use
			Start Small, Own Collectively, Be Iterative
			Go Deep with Your Documentation Triggers
		Aim for a Shared Reality
	Chapter 11 Tame the “Instant” in Instant Messaging
		Make Messaging Productive
			If It’s Urgent, Use a Suitable Medium
			Choose Intuitive Names for Channels and Rooms
			Show Your Status, Respect Others’ Statuses
			Limit the Number of Messages
			Get to the Point
			Target Your Conversations
			React, Don’t Respond
			Use Threads: One per Topic
			Slow Things Down, and Don’t Argue on Chat
			Make Your IM Guidelines Visible
		Messaging: Just Not Instant
	Chapter 12 Standup Meetings: An Easy Shift Left
		Distributed Standups Can Be Painful
			Use the Project Management Tool’s Features
			Automate the Ritual
			Keep It Relevant
			Make Peace with Lag
		Standups = Conveyance/Strong Relationships
	Chapter 13 Take Charge of Your Development Cycles
		Sprint Ceremonies Can Hinder Async Work
			Approach 1: Embrace Continuous Flow
			Approach 2: Use “Shape Up” Cycles
		The Key to Asynchrony Is a Strong Process
	Chapter 14 Run Meaningful Retrospectives
		Infrequent Retros Lead to Poor Team Health
			View Retrospectives as a Process and Not an Event
			Collect Inputs in Safety
			Voting Synchronously vs. Asynchronously
			Setting Up the Retrospective Environment
			Retros as a Process, Not an Event
		Scrum for the 2020s
	Chapter 15 Kickoffs and Desk Checks: Reduce Ritualized Interruptions
		How to Maintain Quality with Fewer Meetings?
			Approach 1: Go Async with Kickoffs and Desk Checks
			Approach 2: Keep the Sync Practices and Plan for Them
		Make Your Feedback Loops “Remote Native”
	Chapter 16 Questions to Reimagine Your Tech Huddles
		The What and the Why
			How Much Autonomy Exists in Your Teams?
			How Necessary Is the “Sync Up”?
			What If You Defaulted to Action?
			If You Must Huddle, How Do You Make the Meeting Effective?
			Oh, and About the Regular, Scheduled Huddles…
		Not a Zero-Sum Game
	Chapter 17 Pair Programming: The Elephant in the Room
		A Polarizing Topic
			Let’s Start with Why
			Design for Flexibility
			Use the Right Tools
			Encourage Personal Discipline
			Mix Pairing and Solo Work
		If It’s Fun for You, Pair by All Means
	Chapter 18 Audit Trails from the Flow of Your Work
		The “Just Ask” Pattern Breaks Down
			Meeting Notes
			Business Decision Records
			Architectural Decision Records
			Commit Messages
			Pull Requests
		Trails as the Most Frequent Form of Documentation
	Chapter 19 Communicate Tech and Functional Design
		An Agile Approach to Design
			Idea Papers
			Feature Breakdown Documents
			Technical Design Documents
		Simplify Communication Complexity
	Chapter 20 Two Stable Pieces of Handbook Documentation
		Being Agile About Documentation
			Your Ways of Working
			Codebase README Files
			Documenting Code? Think Twice
		Good Documents Reduce Guesswork
	Chapter 21 Craft an Efficient Onboarding Process
		Write Once, Run Many Times
			Preserve the Dumb Questions Budget with an FAQ
			Build an Onboarding Checklist
			Focus on Automation and Reusability
			Find the New Hire a Buddy
			Foster Strong Relationships
		Onboarding Efficiency = Team Efficiency
Part IV: Async-First Leadership
	Chapter 22 The Async Leadership Mindset
		The Tyranny of “The Way”
			How Can You Get the Most Out of Yourself?
			How Can You Be an Example, Not a Bottleneck?
			How Can You Avoid Busywork?
			How Can You Champion Inclusion?
			How Can You Make Your Team Resilient?
		Make Time for the Essential Stuff
	Chapter 23 Manage Your People with Care
		Corrections in the Right Direction
			Manage Your Own Workload
			Meet People One-on-One 
			Practice Radical Candor
		Be the Bridge Between Your Team and Your Company’s Culture
	Chapter 24 Set Up Your Team for Success
		Design for Success
			Manage Team Cognitive Load Through Team Topologies
			Revisit Your Team’s Internal Structure
			Reduce Pressure, Create Calm
			Consciously Build a Team Culture
			Align on a Common Purpose
		Your Virtual Workplace Needs Configuring
	Chapter 25 Farm Tacit Knowledge in Your Company
		Beyond Handbooks: Into Communities
			Create Porous Walls
			Facilitate Flows While You Manage Stocks
		From Team Knowledge to Company Knowledge
Part V: Navigate the Pitfalls
	Chapter 26 The Great Hybrid Kerfuffle
		People’s Preferences Are Heading Remote
			Hybrid Organization, Not Hybrid Employees
			Avoid a Move Backward
			Avoid New Costs for All Stakeholders
			Embrace Science, Not Superstition
			Don’t Create a Perception of Asymmetry
			Treat Everyone as “Remote”
		Choice and Autonomy Are the Key Words
	Chapter 27 The Async Island
		Unpacking Organizational Inertia
			Forces for and Against Change
			Async Work Is a New Sport
			Help Your System Get Better
			Protect and Extend the Island
		While Being a Guerilla, Don’t Forget Advocacy
	Chapter 28 Toxicity in the Virtual Workplace
		Toxicity Builds: One Benign Step at a Time
			Celebrating the Hard Worker
			Digital Presenteeism
			Talking to the Document
			Not Investing in Meaningful Synchrony
		As a Leader, Stay Vigilant
Part VI: Bring it all Together
	Chapter 29 The Async-First Starter Kit
		Five Stages of Sensible Defaults
			Stage 1: Align on Goals
			Stage 2: Tabulate Baseline Data
			Stage 3: Agree on the Fundamentals
			Stage 4: Clean Up Your Calendars
			Stage 5: Build the 30-Day Program and Beyond
		A Team Shift, Owned by the Team
	Chapter 30 A Brave New World of Work
		Another World of Work Is Possible
			Flexibility as a Desire and a Right
			A Skills Economy
			Digital Nomadism
			The Four-Day Workweek
			Gen Z and Their Sensibilities
			A Shift for Autonomy
		It’s Time to Sign Off
Endnotes
Index
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